Indianapolis Colts Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Colts owner Jim Irsay says QB Anthony Richardson has decided to have surgery on his right shoulder, which will end the rookie's season. This was previously reported as the likely move and will mean QB Gardner Minshew starting going forward. Sam Ehlinger sits as the backup, with Kellen Mond on the practice squad. We'll see whether Indy makes any further moves at the position.

Colts QB Anthony Richardson will "probably" miss the rest of the regular season, ESPN's Stephen Holder reports. The rookie might need surgery on his injured right shoulder. That came from Colts owner Jim Irsay, and it should mean Gardner Minshew starting the rest of the season. Richardson remains a high-upside asset for dynasty fantasy football teams. We're not projecting much difference for other Colts offensive pieces with Minshew in place of Richardson. If anything, the swap likely means more passing volume and less goal-line competition for the RBs.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor ran even with Zack Moss in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. He edged Moss 8-7 in carries, gaining just 19 yards as Indy got nothing going on the ground in the lopsided defeat. Taylor grabbed 5 receptions for 46 yards on 6 targets, though. He trailed Moss by just 1 target and catch while beating him in yardage. Taylor is likely trending toward leading the backfield in work in Week 7, which will be his third game since returning from the PUP list. Unfortunately, a matchup with Cleveland's league-best defense doesn't look good for any Colts.

Colts WR Michael Pittman racked up 9 receptions for 109 yards on 14 targets in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. He clearly benefited from Gardner Minshew attempting 55 throws in the lopsided loss. But Pittman drew a nice 25.5% target share. He garnered six more looks than his nearest teammate (Josh Downs). It's the fourth time in six games that Pittman has drawn at least 11 targets. That makes him a weekly starter across fantasy formats. Week 7 holds a difficult matchup with the league-best Browns defense, though.

Colts QB Anthony Richardson is "strongly considering" season-ending surgery to repair the damaged AC joint in his throwing shoulder, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Richardson and the Colts sought four or five different opinions on the shoulder, "with a procedure deemed by some as the best option to fully heal his right throwing shoulder," per Rapoport. The labrum in Richardson's shoulder is not torn, Rapoport adds, and the ligaments "looked better than expected." But Richardson's long-term health is more important to the Colts than his short-term availability. We'll keep you updated on Richardson, who can still be stashed in deep fantasy leagues. But fantasy owners should start plan on being without him for the rest of the season.

The Colts will ramp up RB Jonathan Taylor's work in practice this week, HC Shane Steichen said. "This will be a full week of practice, which is going to be really huge because especially today on Wednesday, you're in pads, you're able to get a lot of those high-speed reps in and really work on your craft," Taylor said. "You can definitely work on the details when you have shells and helmets, but it's different when you put those pads on. So it'll be a big week to be able to continue to progress." We assume more work in practice will mean more work on Sunday. Taylor was out-carried 23 to 6 by RB Zack Moss last week. Expect that gap to close against the Jaguars this weekend -- although we're still projecting Moss to lead in carries.

Colts QB Anthony Richardson is expected to miss four to eight weeks with his shoulder injury, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Richardson was placed on IR earlier today, knocking him out for at least the next four games. But he could miss time beyond that, "depending on his rehab and whether or not he still would need surgery on his right shoulder," per Schefter. Despite Richardson's top-5 weekly upside, he's droppable in standard-sized fantasy leagues.

Colts QB Anthony Richardson has been placed on IR with his Grade 3 AC joint sprain. That knocks him out for at least the next four games vs. the Jaguars, Browns, Saints, and Panthers. The rookie is droppable in shallower fantasy leagues without an IR spot. QB Gardner Minshew will step in as Indianapolis' starter for however long Richardson is out. Minshew is a capable veteran who's already registered a 68.7% completion rate with two TDs vs. 0 INTs this season. He might even be a slight upgrade for WRs Michael Pittman and Josh Downs.

Colts HC Shane Steichen wouldn't give a timetable for QB Anthony Richardson's return from his shoulder injury on Monday but did rule the rookie out for this weekend's game vs. the Jaguars. The Athletic's Dianna Russini reports that the Colts are "bracing for the QB to miss 4-6 weeks of time." We'll look for further updates on Richardson's status. QB Gardner Minshew will be back under center this weekend.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Colts QB Anthony Richardson has been diagnosed with a Grade 3 AC joint sprain. If a Monday morning MRI confirms that, Richardson would be expected to miss at least a month. Indy's bye doesn't come until Week 11, so that would mean at least four starts for Gardner Minshew. We're not sure the QB switch makes much difference for the outlooks of Indy pass-catchers. Minshew obviously doesn't come close to Richardson in fantasy-scoring upside. But he has been a functional starter across three teams now, including 227 yards and 1 TD in a Week 3 OT win at Baltimore this year. Losing Richardson for a month plus will make him tough to keep on some fantasy rosters, if you don't have an IR spot or deep bench.

The initial diagnosis on Colts QB Anthony Richardson's right shoulder is an AC joint sprain, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Richardson is set to undergo an MRI to get a better look at the damage. We should get an update on how much time he's expected to miss within the next 24 hours.

Kylen Granson led Colts TEs with 3 targets in Sunday's win over the Titans, but he saw negative development for his role. Andrew Ogletree led the position in snaps, playing 40 to Granson's 26, according to Pro Football Focus. Granson still led in routes, but that lead shrank to 12-9 -- with TE Mo Alie-Cox adding 7 routes (before leaving with a concussion). That 42.9% route rate marked a second straight dip vs. 56.7% in Week 4 and 67.3% in Week 3. Ogletree added 2-16 receiving on 2 targets, and Alie-Cox caught his lone target for 17 yards. With TE Jelani Woods still due back from IR soon, it's tough to see any Colts TE as worth rostering in redraft leagues right now.

Colts rookie WR Josh Downs caught all six of his targets for a team-high 97 yards in Sunday's win over the Titans. Downs actually had two other targets -- one completed, one not -- negated by offensive penalties. He made half of those receptions with each QB, in a game Anthony Richardson left early with a right shoulder injury. Downs remains third among Colts WRs in snaps and routes but continues to easily beat WR Alec Pierce in targets per route. He looks like a decent PPR WR3 for Week 6 at Jacksonville. Tougher matchups with Cleveland and New Orleans sit beyond that. WR Michael Pittman led Downs 7-6 in official targets against Tennessee, posting a 5-52 receiving line. No other Colt caught more than two passes.

X-rays on Colts QB Anthony Richardson came back clean, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. That should rule out a broken collarbone. We'll see what kind of damage Richardson sustained to his shoulder. Stay tuned.

Colts QB Anthony Richardson suffered an apparent right shoulder injury in the second quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Titans. He headed into the medical tent and was replaced by QB Gardner Minshew. We'll update Richardson's status when we know more.

Update: Richardson is officially questionable to return.

Update: Richardson has been ruled out.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle) is active for today’s game vs. the Titans. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported over the last 24 hours that Taylor won’t get a full workload in his 2023 debut. This is also a challenging matchup against Tennessee’s fourth-ranked RB defense. See where Taylor sits in the Week 5 RB Rankings.

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo confirms a previous report that Colts RB Jonathan Taylor will not get a full workload in his 2023 debut vs. the Titans today. "Expect a split between him and Zack Moss today as they ease Taylor back into action in his first game back," Garafolo tweets. We don't expect it to be a 50/50 split between the two. But it's clear that Taylor won't play his usual workhorse role today. See how we project the Colts' Week 5 backfield.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini hears that the Colts will have RB Jonathan Taylor "on a count and ramp up his workload over the next month." It's not a surprise considering Taylor hasn't played in a game since December and didn't practice all offseason. Taylor sits in low RB2 territory in the Week 5 Rankings. But he figures to climb into the RB1 discussion over the next few weeks.

The Colts officially activated RB Jonathan Taylor from the PUP list Saturday, but then quickly topped that with bigger news. Taylor has agreed to a three-year, $42 million extension with the team. That obviously ends all the drama that clouded Taylor's 2023 outlook and locks him in as Indy's workhorse. There might be some risk to starting him in fantasy lineups right away, given lingering ankle trouble this summer. A matchup with Tennessee's tough run defense makes it an even tougher spot. But expect Taylor to quickly return to weekly starter status in an offense that has recently supported RB1 weeks for Zack Moss. Check our Week 5 RB rankings to see where Taylor has settled in.

The Colts list RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle) as questionable for Sunday's game vs. the Titans. He was a full participant in practice all week, and Taylor said the ankle is no longer an issue. It sure looks like he's ready to play this weekend, but the team has been mum on his status. We'll keep you updated on the situation and get Indianapolis' inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday.